Updated Jan. 15
As predicted, Portugal is heading into a lockdown similar in scale to the one seen in March of last year. This follows a rapid spike in Covid infections: at the time of writing, Portugal has more than 116,328 active cases and 8,236 who’s contracted the virus have died.
The new covid restriction rules go into effect at 00:00 on January 15th and are as follows:
- Stay at home, except for authorized travel
- Mandatory teleworking / remote working
- Creches, schools, and universities are open and teaching in person
- Public services will be available with a prior appointment
- Doctor’s offices, dentists, and pharmacies will remain open
- Religious ceremonies will be permitted in accordance with DGS standards
- Shops will be closed, excluding authorized establishments
- Hairdressers and barbers will be closed
- Markets and supermarkets will be open but limited to a capacity of 5 people per 100m2
- Restaurants, cafes, and bars will only be open for takeaway and home delivery
- Cultural establishments will be closed
- Gyms, sports halls, and other sports venues will be closed but individual exercise outdoors is permitted
- National sports teams and first senior division will be permitted to play without a public audience
- Courts (legal) will remain open
This is part of a state of emergency that is currently set to run from the 15th until the end of January. However, it is very likely that it will be extended for at least another two weeks after this.
The new rules were released as an infographic that can be found here.
Informal translation of the Portuguese Covid lockdown infographic:
Update Jan. 15: Some of you will no doubt have more questions. Our understanding here at Atlas is that, just like during the first major lockdowns, there are many, many grey areas about which even the police tasked with enforcing the rules may be confused. We will continue updating this page with details as we learn them — please send us descriptions of your personal experience!
In the meantime, Idealista has an interesting list of the 24 exceptions, per the new confinement law, as to who and when can leave their house.
